


on waiting

by vityenka



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Non-Explicit Sex, cerberus is the very best boy, idk what to write i just love these two so much!!!!!, my take on the fade to black scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:02:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27651748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vityenka/pseuds/vityenka
Summary: Thanatos is tired of waiting. What comes before the fade to black scene, and what comes after.
Relationships: Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 214





	on waiting

**Author's Note:**

> hey ya'll! this is my first piece for the hades fandom! i've had writer's block for a hot minute, and zoom university hasn't been helping with that (i'm failing a class but it's FINEEEE. i only have a ten page paper, a 3000 word essay, and a compilation of poetry for my other courses to complete hahAAA). anyway, i hope you enjoy! i love thanzag and i had a lot of fun writing this. thanatos in zag's room made me scream when i saw it happen in my game.

on waiting

Thanatos is much better at telling time than any of the other Chthonic Gods are. He knows, instinctively, the time of day it was Zagreus handed him that first strange bottle of nectar, contraband, that Thanatos had stored away before his Master could see. 

He drinks it alone while overlooking a mortal river somewhere cold, nectar warming his bones. His mind is at rest. 

It hasn’t been too long since Zagreus began his impossible task, since he reached the surface for the first time and was struck down by his father’s hand. Thanatos remembers when he came creeping back through the halls; it had been night, and mortals were waiting for him, but he was waiting for Zagreus. 

“Than,” Zagreus had whispered. He had been...not quite sad, but something adjacent to it. Thanatos had said something he couldn’t quite remember, and had disappeared with a clap, a ding and a flash of green light. 

The mortals had come quietly, thankfully, and Thanatos had waited until Zagreus was in Asphodel to visit him again. 

Time passes strangely in the Underworld, and yet it does pass. Cerberus allows Thanatos to leave dead things at his feet, and pat him on Cerberus Alpha’s muzzle. Before long, Zagreus has filled Thanatos’ chamber with bottles of nectar. It creeps up on him the way Zagreus looks at him from under his lashes, how he places a strong hand on Thanatos’ bicep, how disappointed he looks when Thanatos doesn’t stick around to chat. 

Thanatos has been in love with Zagreus for years. He’s been waiting for something that would never come, and yet. 

The first bottle of Ambrosia tastes of pomegranate, sweet and sharp on his tongue and he’s surprised when there are no seeds to spit out. The Lethe passes in rolling white waves, enticing shades to let go. Thanatos wonders about the river denizens, if they take away memories, as well. He saw Zagreus fishing here one time, and wondered about the fish he dropped off to the head chef afterwards. 

Zagreus tells Thanatos how cold the surface is, that Demeter must be truly heartbroken over her loss. Thanatos has always been cautious of Demeter; she has nothing more to lose, and isn’t that the most dangerous thing of all? 

Bottles of ambrosia pile up. Thanatos is being given them at such a rate that he can’t drink them fast enough. It’s obvious now what Zagreus is doing. Thanatos can’t find it in himself to protest; he wants this more than anything, and wanting is strange. Thanatos wants for nothing more than a break, occasionally, and now he longs for Zagreus like no other, as deep as the void of Chaos’ domains. 

Zagreus finds him one evening by the Styx, gazing out over its red currant, contemplating a drink in the lounge. 

“Than,” Zagreus greets. He places his hand on Thanatos’ arm, fingers curling ever so slightly, palm warm. 

“Zagreus,” Thanatos replies. He turns to face Zagreus, who is still shorter than Thanatos when he’s on the ground. “How was your last adventure?” 

Zagreus smiles, disarming. “Good,” he says. “I beat him, of course.” This is the standard answer now, Zagreus getting more confident each time. Persephone is in the Great Hall, now, crowned with the same laurels that Zagreus wears. The air has felt lighter. 

“Than,” Zagreus swallows and looks away toward the river. “I have to be upfront with you. I don’t...I’m afraid of risking our relationship, but I don’t think I can hide it anymore.” 

Thanatos stills, stomach clenching. “Our relationship...?” 

“I care for you,” Zagreus says. He looks up, eyes meeting Thanatos’. “Deeply, and...” 

“You care for me,” Thanatos repeats. They taste of ambrosia, the words Zagreus is saying. It’s sweet, sharp, real as anything. Thanatos closes his eyes and leans closer. “I care for you as well, if I understand what you’re saying correctly.” 

Zagreus takes his hand, squeezes. “You do?” 

“I do.” 

“Then...” Zagreus bites his lip. “What now? We can take our time if...if you’d like.” 

“Take our time,” Thanatos says. He hears mortals calling for him, and knows the voices will only grow if he waits too long. Yes, take their time, that is what they will do, despite the clawing desperation for the Prince before him. “Yes I...alright. I have to go. Take care of yourself, Zag.” 

“You too, Than,” Zagreus smiles, and it’s the last thing Thanatos sees before he’s gone in a flash of green. 

It isn’t long before Thanatos finds Zagreus in Elysium. There are self-driving chariots speeding towards him when Thanatos pops in, and the competition begins in earnest. At the end, after Zagreus has whipped past him in flashes of light and heat, Thanatos hands him a centaur heart and takes a breath. 

Sweat beads on Zagreus’ face, his eyes bright and breath heavy. Thanatos wants him so badly it aches. He can’t wait if it means waiting to have this. The blood of gods runs golden, and Thanatos’ thrums with need. 

“I’ll see you at home,” Thanatos murmurs. 

At home, Thanatos passes his Mother in the hall outside Zagreus’ chambers. 

“My child,” Nyx greets him, brushing a lock of hair from his eyes. Outside of view, she is affectionate. “You are happy.” She observes, her voice echoing, as old as time. “And yet, you are nervous.” 

“Both, I think,” Thanatos nods. “It is Zagreus.” 

“A fitting match,” Nyx murmurs. She straightens his cloak. “Go seek your happiness, child.” 

Thanatos leaves his Mother to her corner and slips inside Zagreus’ chambers. The Mirror of Night stands propped against the far wall, and a lyre stands near the bed, which is furnished with plush royal blues. Thanatos sets his scythe down against the desk, and waits.

Zagreus is home by nightfall, and startles when he spots Thanatos in the center of the room, pacing. 

“You’re here,” Zagreus observes. “I didn’t...I would invite you in, but...” 

Thanatos quirks a nervous smile. “I let myself in. I apologize if I was presumptuous.” 

“No! No,” Zagreus shakes his head. “You’re fine.” 

“I was thinking about what you said,” Thanatos worries the edges of his cloak in his hands. “About waiting. But...but what are you waiting for, Zagreus? What are you waiting for? I’m here, aren’t I?” 

“Than,” Zagreus breathes. He steps forward, closer and closer until Thanatos can see the flecks of gold in his green eye. “You’re right.” 

He kisses Thanatos, and Ichor rushes through Thanatos’ body like the Styx. 

They fumble for one another, pushing and pulling, and Thanatos has his hands over Zagreus’ heart, feels it beat below his fingers. They stumble back to the bed, fall into the blue sheets and Zagreus scrambles to rid Thanatos of his clothing. 

The press of skin is delicious, better than the ripest fruit. Zagreus is hard against Thanatos’ hip, and Thanatos isn’t much better. Zagreus’ mouth is hot, red and his tongue licks heat through Thanatos’ veins. 

“I love you,” Zagreus whispers in the space between them, charged like Zeus’ lightning bolts. 

Thanatos cups his face, soft skin under his palms. “I love you.” 

Thanatos falls back as Zagreus kisses under his jaw, down his neck and chest and hips. Time seems to stretch, endless and soft, as Zagreus uses his hands and mouth to map out the parts of Thanatos that come undone when prodded. All of him melts under Zagreus’ warmth. 

He does the same for Zagreus, finding the secrets hidden between soft, strong thighs, the burn of the soles of his feet where they dig into Thanatos’ back. Thanatos makes a home inside Zagreus’ body, finds the puzzle pieces of them that match up and lock together perfectly. He grasps Zagreus’ hand, thrusts forward into the soft dark of Zagreus’s body, presses his mouth to Zagreus’ dark hair. 

They fall together over an edge that they hadn’t known was there. 

Thanatos comes back to himself, under blankets and gentle reddened skin where Zagreus’ feet are brushing his leg. Thanatos mouths at the soft skin under Zagreus’ ear, runs gentle fingers through his hair. Zagreus stirs under his touch, and his eyes flutter open. 

The mortal world is quiet for now, and Thanatos falls into the restful, fading black of sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you liked it ;-; i love these two so much. i loved writing from than's pov. let me know what you thought in the comments!! i love reading them! also, my hand is cramping from playing so much hades. ps if you're here from my yoi fics i haven't abandoned yoi!! just had some writer's block. love ya'll!!!


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